On intelligence is intuitive

1: what happens to a society when mystery is labeled as evil? it yields an ever-connected chain of false labels and misinterpretations the indigenous are labeled as savage terorists and plotted against the open-hearted are manipulated into slavery the vulnerable are penetrated by force of law citizens where is your allegiance? why do you pledge […]

On all politics is local

A screenshot from this week’s (brilliant) New Yorker hits incredibly close to home —

On creative focus

From a really excellent AMA by Werner Herzog, in response to the question “Is there any method or practice you use to help get focused on one idea to pursue for a picture?” — [–]Werner-Herzog[S] 1012 points 2 months ago That’s hard to answer, because I do not follow ideas; I stumble into stories, or I stumble […]

On modeling

The Atlantic’s City Lab blog posted an interview with Josef Konvitz and his comments on modeling and forecasting stuck out to me — Great projects have dynamic effects, precipitating changes throughout urban regions that are all but impossible to model in advance because no one can anticipate their impact. Projects are often sold on the basis […]

On resilient cities

The Atlantic’s City Lab blog posted a conversation with The Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Initiative President Michael Berkowitz, and this bit caught my attention — There’s a difference between resilient infrastructure and infrastructure that builds resilience. Resilient infrastructure is the bridge that doesn’t fall down in the flood. Infrastructure that builds resilience is the […]

On updates

In the world post-thesis (!!), updates are coming to this site. Watch this space!

On storytelling

Sometimes you just need creative inspiration and the universe just… delivers. Paul Simon, Andrew Bird + Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers, via A Praire Home Companion — Also: the obligatory Hamilton reference: LMM on your twenties + immigrants; Rudy Francisco, Love Poem

On creative breakthroughs and perseverance

Ta-Nehisi Cotes on the distance between what’s in your mind and what ends up on the paper is hitting close to home these days —

On more proposed changes to Norwegian asylum and immigration policy [2]

[following the updated proposals, this post is a continuation of the original] Prop. 90 L (2015-2016): Endringer i utlendingsloven mv. (instramninger II) / final info Prop. 91 L (2015-2016): Endringar i utlendingslova (pågriping og fengsling i samband med 48-timarprosedyren) / final info Press conference om endanger i utlendingsloven [05.04.2016] 01.05.2016: Listhaug vil ha arbeidspraksis for nylig ankomne innvandrere […]

On pathways for admission of Syrian Refugees

A one-day, high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees was held 30 March 2016 in Geneva . The meeting was bookended by the 4 February 2016 Supporting Syria conference in London, the 23-24 May 2016 World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, and the 19 September 2016 Summit Addressing Large Movements of Refugees […]